2 Vendors Plead Innocent To Selling Without Licenses

February 14, 1985|By Sally Deneen, Staff Writer

The day before Valentine`s Day is supposed to be a rosy time for flower vendor Ricardo Martinez. But not this year.

He was appearing in court.

``I can`t believe it,`` said Martinez, 31, standing outside the South Palm Beach County Courthouse courtroom in Delray Beach. ``The best day for me is today, the day before St. Valentine`s. Everybody`s wanting flowers, but I`ve already lost almost half a day here.

``I can tell you, I`ve thrown away about $1,000 in flowers easy -- easy -- since this all started.``

Martinez`s problem is a county roadside stand ordinance passed late last summer. The law said vendors must have licenses certifying that they have insurance, are selling their wares at certain distances from intersections, and are selling only agricultural products and prepared foods.

This law was too vague to be upheld in courts, said Assistant County Attorney Richard Graddock, so the county has never issued the licenses.

But that fact didn`t appease sheriff`s deputies, who at Christmas time started visiting Martinez`s flower stand at Palmetto Park and Powerline roads, west of Boca Raton, and asked for his license. They did the same to Stephanie Morris, who sells $15 posters at Military Trail and Linton Boulevard, west of Delray Beach, and a few other roadside vendors.

``Every day, sometimes twice a day`` they stopped at Martinez`s stand, he said. ``Sometimes I`d be working for a whole week without problems and the next week they`d come and say, `No you can`t stay here,` `` he said.

In the meantime, Martinez said he tried to obtain a license, but the county refused to issue one.

On Jan. 26, deputies visited him for the last time.

They handed the former factory worker a notice to appear Feb. 13 before Judge David Clark for ``selling wares . . . without a proper permit.`` Two days later, they stopped at Morris` stand and gave her a notice to appear the same day.

Morris was enraged.

``This is just an unnecessary hassle to go through,`` Morris, 24, said Wednesday, while standing outside the courtroom. ``All I`m trying to do is make a living. I`m not forcing anyone to stop at my stand if they don`t want to. I keep a nice display -- I don`t think it looks tacky at all.

The fight continues.

Morris and Martinez both pleaded not guilty in their two-minute-long arraignments Wednesday, and are scheduled to return 1 p.m. March 13 for a hearing. They`re both confident about their cases.

``I think it`s going to be thrown out,`` Morris said. ``You can`t cite someone for not having a license the county isn`t even issuing.``

County commissioners will tackle the law affecting roadside vendors later this month, when they are expected to vote to rescind the ordinance and ask the county attorney`s office to draft a new law regulating vendors.